Flawed Beginnings

I was busy in the Fall through Christmas and into January 2011 learning stitches and creating the beaded pieces above. Each piece was a challenge to put together and has significant mistakes, some were creatively incorporated into the existing designs and some are just hanging out for all to see. This bothers the little perfectionist in Pam. It's as if the errors are sticking their little beaded tongues out at me. Still, I am quite proud of each piece for different reasons.

The Zebra Bracelet is completely my own design and my very first attempt at 2-drop peyote. I was inspired by the name tag project we did at the January Oklahoma Bead Society meeting. The Farfalle bracelet is my first to use those crazy little peanut beads. It feels really silky and yet substantial on my arm but even though I measured 5 times, it is still a little too big. Too big is a recurrent theme in the pieces I made for my daughter, Heather, for Christmas. An example is the pink and black necklace and earrings. Obviously, experience is going to be a great teacher. Sadly, I forgot to photograph several gifted pieces at Christmas time.  Oh well, I'll do better next year.

This winter I loved finding new websites including Deborah Roberti's "Around The Beading Table." She has a talent not only for creating beautiful jewelry patterns but also clear and easy to follow instructions. Another great blog is Mandi Ainsworth's "Bead Circle".  I enjoy my membership in the Oklahoma Bead Society.  I am learning from these beaders.  Can't wait to see what 2011 has to offer!